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Jackson wrongful death trial opens

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AEG's lawyer refused to stipulate Michael Jackson is dead at a hearing last week

"Absolutely," he says when asked again Wednesday if he'd agree Jackson is dead

Detective: Money woes may have led Dr. Conrad Murray to "break the rules"

Murray's clinic was being evicted, home in foreclosure when hired as Jackson's doctor

A week after AEG's lawyer refused to concede for legal arguments that Michael Jackson is dead, he acknowledged the pop icon's death in court.

The stipulation -- an agreement between two parties in a case that something is a given fact -- could save time in a trial that is expected to last several months.

Michael Jackson's mother and children are suing AEG Live, contending the concert promoter is liable for the pop icon's death because it negligently hired, retained and supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his death.

While acknowledging Jackson died on June 25, 2009, AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam is still reluctant to stipulate what killed him and that Murray was the cause.

Martinez, who led the department's probe of Jackson's death, testified that he suspected Murray's "severely distressed" financial situation -- including having his home in foreclosure, delinquent taxes, student-loan liens and unpaid child support -- could have led him to give Jackson unsafe treatments.

One contention in the lawsuit is that the concert promoter should have known that Murray's financial stress could have been a problem for the doctor.

After interviewing Murray two days after Jackson's death, Martinez's "thinking at the moment was the crime was negligence," he testified.

Martinez, who will return to the stand for a third day of testimony Thursday, showed documents that said Murray's Las Vegas home had lost $500,000 in value and was in foreclosure; his Las Vegas medical clinic faced eviction for non-payment of rent; he had a long list of loan defaults; and his expenses outweighed his income by $2,700 a month.

Murray, who initially asked AEG for $5 million to work for a year as Jackson's personal physician, eventually agreed to take $150,000 a month.

"That's a lot of money for anyone," Martinez said. "Seeing the scene and talking to him about what he had done and how he did it raised questions."

"Focusing on the financial aspect may have been important for Dr. Murray's willingness to disregard his Hippocratic Oath for financial gain," he testified.

What he learned about Murray's financial troubles led him "to opine that he may have, for this easy money -- the $150,000 a month -- may break the rules, bend the rules, to do whatever he needed to do to get paid."

Dr. Christopher Rogers, the deputy medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on Jackson, will be called to testify after that questioning of Martinez concludes Thursday. No court is scheduled for Friday.